Summer Camps

Day camps abound for Pittsburgh-area kids this year as parents try to fight the dreaded summer brain drain. 90.5 WESA's Megan Harris reports the Carnegie Science Center called in a few creepy crawlies to help do the trick.

On second pass, 4-year-old Neyra Mesic was ready.

“I want a worm,” Mesic said, pulling her thumb from her mouth. She tugged on teacher Wendy Brenneman’s red canvas blouse. “I can do it now.”

Brenneman set a wriggly, brown garden worm on a damp paper towel next to Mesic. Like all the preschoolers attending summer camp Wednesday at the Carnegie Science Center, Brenneman warned her, “We like worms; be gentle.”

Pennsylvania is home to 32,000 military kids who move around, don’t see their parents for months at a time, and are plagued with worry of a parent dying while in service of their country. That’s why YMCA Camp Soles in Somerset County offers a discounted week to kids in military families.

This week 65 kids ages 7-15 who are part of a military family get to enjoy zip lining, rock climbing, a nature center, arts and crafts and many more camp activities. Executive Director of the camp, Ryan Hove, says it gives them a chance to be normal kids.

While winter is hardly a distant memory, it’s time to start making summer plans. If summer camp is in your child’s future, contributor Rebecca Harris says now is the time to sign-up. This week she focused on the business of summer camps.

More than six million children attend summer camps each year, and there are many different options. There are day camps, sleep away camps and even summer camps for adults. Rebecca has suggested just a few to check out before sessions fill up.